


I'm Only Human

by tasibi



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Black Paladin Keith, Depressed Lance, Intrusive Thoughts, Mentions of Other Voltron Paladins, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Worth Issues, Why do i hurt my child so, mentions of cutting, red paladin lance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-26
Updated: 2017-07-26
Packaged: 2018-12-07 09:02:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11620329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tasibi/pseuds/tasibi
Summary: The team was collapsing, not paying mind to their blue paladin. And they only realized their mistakes when one reached his breaking point.*Title inspired by the song "Only Human"*





	I'm Only Human

**Author's Note:**

> Who should be working on the last chapter of I see you meow? 
> 
> ME!
> 
> What are you doing now?
> 
> Writing a Langst drabble.

Lance was breaking, falling apart at the seams, his mask cracking letting his true self shine through a bit, yet no one noticed. No one noticed when he would scramble to make jokes, when he would train more and more, not even when he took jabs at his Self-esteem, still, _no one noticed_.

A voice would linger in the back of his head, shouting insult after insult in his mind, ripping him apart. And Shiro disappearing was not helping his case.

The team was now brought down to the lucky number of 4, and leaderless. Everyone was crumbling, Pidge rarely slept anymore, going on willpower alone. Hunk was stress baking more and more, and while that did help their food supply, barely anyone ate healthy portions, everyone except Lance. Keith was no better, if the boy had trained a lot before, this must have been a new record, he would show up to eat (which he didn't really do) and then he would go back to training after what was certainly not the amount of sleep the human body needed, or did Galra need less sleep than others?  
But Lance, Lance stayed the same, and that was because he had practiced the mask since his waking moment, he had perfected the art, and no one commented on it.

It was the perfect mask, no one could see when he winced and cried inside when they insulted his skills, it was that good. The blue paladin had no intent on revealing his insecurities and scars on his arms to his team. But during this façade, Lance forgot he was human, and even he had a breaking point, which so convientley happened with everyone watching.

 

* * *

The paladins had been called to a meeting where they would start missions again, now that Lance and Keith were fitting into their new roles as the red and black paladins, Allura seeming made to be Blues. Lance had tried to lighten the tense atmosphere, by making a joke, which, unsurprisingly; backfired.

"Can you just shut up for FIVE TICKS?!" The outburst was unexpected and pretty quickly eveyones eyes were on their new leader. Lance faltered a bit but didn't give up.

"Sorry, mullet, but the tension was so high in this room I could cut it with an exact-o-knife" Keith mumbled something, but it wasn't low enough, he could just make out the words.

"I sometimes wonder why Blue chose you."

That's it, with those simple words went his mask, revealing, not sadness, but anger. The anger flourished everywhere and pretty soon the rest of the group felt the heat of the conversation.

"I KNOW THAT, DID YOU THINK I DIDNT SPEND ONE DAY NOT DWELLING ON THAT?!" His eye twitched and he lowered his voice as the anger peeled back another layer, revealing pain.

"I think to myself 'I'm here for a reason, I was chosen and meant for something _grand_  ' and I tell myself every day it's going to be okay, forcing myself to laugh and joke even when I get shut down and ignored!!" Hunk was staring at him, eyes full of regret, Allura in confusion, and Coran with a sorrowful look, and Keith gazed at him in disbelief.

"I train and train and train, but NO. All I get are _Lance, train harder_  or _You need to do better_. And I do it, but guess what?!" He scanned the room once more, landing on Allura "It happens AGAIN! I get insulted, told to get better and when I do all I get are my flaws pointed out. And _sure_ , I get compliments now and then but they are so vague, the only time Shiro pointed out my benefits was when I shot through such a narrow space!" Pidge looked up, tears welling in their eyes.

"I watched you all crumble and I stayed the same and not _one_  of you questioned it. Why? You ask, it was because from the beggining I was barely holding myself together! I fed Pidge, put them to rest. I assured Hunk through panic attacks, I even let myself become a verbal punching bag for Keith! Heck, I even talked to Allura and Coran. But it seems you forgot one important fact" Lances eyes blazed with fury, Blues presence trying to calm him, it did not help. He raised his hand to display the number one.

"And that fact is: I'm Only Human" He excused himself and shut the door, leaving the team in dismay.

How could they have forgotten that fact?

How could they have let their teammate collapse in on himself?

And How were they going to fix this?

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are appreciated!


End file.
